Arcanists
Arcanists is a turn-based strategy game. Players take turns to utilise one of sixteen spells, chosen by the player beforehand, in order to defeat their opponents. How to Play Basics When you first log-in to Arcanists, you must create a character. Playing the tutorial will help you to get the hang of the basics of the game. The number above your character's head is your life meter; if this hits 0, your character will die. Movement and Direction Arrow keys are used to look around the battlefield. Z moves to the left while X moves to the right. Enter is used to perform a long jump, and backspace or shift performs a high jump. N and C switch between minions, centering the camera on the creature under your command. The mouse is used to target and fire most weapons. Under certain circumstances, you may find yourself with the ability to fly. X and Z move your player right and left as before; Shift flies upwards and Enter flies downwards. If the camera is moved, it will no longer follow a character as he moves; to make it follow your character again, you can use the N or C keys. Sometimes, it can be difficult to jump from one location to the next if your character is facing the wrong way, as turning around may mean you fall from where you are standing. To change direction without moving, choose a weapon and target it in the direction you wish to face. Awards At the end of a game, certain awards are given out to the players who did certain things during the match. Players may get wands even if they lost by getting awards. Spells At the bottom of your screen, there is the spell bar. This shows which spells you have available. Unavailable spells will be shaded out. Some spells can be used a limited number of times, or must be charged for a certain number of turns before they can be used; hovering the mouse over them will show how many charges left on a spell or how many turns before it can be used again. Spells have three levels: *Level 1 - These spells are available as soon as you purchase the respective spellbook, which costs 5 wands. They are found on the left hand side of the spellbook. Each book has 5 level 1 spells. *Level 2 - These spells cost 2 wands each, and you must also have the corresponding level 1 spell in your spell list in order to use it. The corresponding spell will be exactly on the opposite side of the book. Each book has 5 level 2 spells, each corresponding to their own level 1 spell. *Level 3 - These spells cost 3 wands each, and you must use 5 other spells from the same spellbook in order to use them. They are usually single-use and the only exceptions are Comet and Storm, which recharge after 5 turns. The Arcane spellbook has 6 level 1 spells. Some spells deal certain kinds of damage which have special effects. These are as follows: *Arcane damage - Heals arcane imps and the arcane tower. *Stone damage - Some Stone spells do double damage to towers. The spells are not described as doing Stone damage in-game. *Snow damage - Heals frost minions and the Ice Castle. *Storm damage - Some storm minions are immune to storm damage. *Death damage - Some minions that are killed with death damage will be converted into undead minions under your command. Death damage will heal undead minions, including the summoned Wraith. It will also heal any character who has become a Liche using the Lichdom spell. *Light damage - Deals double damage to undead minions and Liches. Ball Spells Balls are projectiles which follow a parabolic trajectory. They are generally among the basic spells in a spellbook. Weapons are aimed and fired with the mouse; the weapon's velocity is controlled by how long the left mouse button is held. Balls explode on impact. Bomb Spells Bombs are identical to balls, except they bounce instead of exploding on impact. They explode after 5 seconds. Bombs can be very useful for enemies which are at the bottom of a pit, especially as many bombs have a cluster effect. They can be difficult to use against enemies which do not have obstacles close to them. Arrows Arrows are essentially homing ball attacks. These spells are excellent at damaging opponents at a distance and can be very accurate when used correctly. However, these attacks curve, which can make their direction difficult to predict without practice, and will be stopped by any obstacle. Players must click where they wish the arrow to go, and then fire the spell as with the ball spells. These spells are often fired at full power upwards, to allow the arrow to curve over the top of the landsapce. Bolts Bolts are similar to firearms: they are aimed in one direction and always fire at a set power with a number of shots, normally around 10. Aimed and fired with the mouse. Some care is required as shots may damage you if you stand too close. Enemies maybe be knocked away mid-shot with these spells, so it is advisable to back them against a piece of scenery. Arena Spells These spells affect the arena in some way. No aiming is required for them. Targeted Spells These spells are not directed from your character. Instead, they come from the terrain, for example, from the sky or the water. For this reason, they are very useful for players hiding in an enclosed space, as they do not require any line of sight from the player, although they may require a line of sight from somewhere else (for example, attacks from the sky can be blocked by scenery above the player). Many of these attacks are more powerful than basic attacks. Personal Spells These spells affect the player that casts them. They are often some kind of defense against attacks. Minions Minions are creatures that you summon to aid you in different ways. Control of these creatures is cycled by using the N or C keys. Minions are moved in the same manner as your Arcanist, although some have limited abilities (for example, many giants cannot jump very well). Minions will generally have a limited move-set consisting of 1-4 moves, which may use ammunition from your Arcanist's spells. Minions can be used offensively, to directly attack another player, or defensively, to block attacks. Some summons can be mounted by the player (by touching them) and can then be flown around. To fly, you must switch control to the minion; attempting to fly using the Arcanist will result in a dismount. All summons have a recharge time of 5 turns. Towers Towers render the Arcanist immobile. They have a limited amount of health of their own, which is added to that of the player. This is the only way to make your Arcanist appear to reach HP of over 250. Towers are damaged by the Quake spell, and many spells from the Book of Stone have increased damage against towers. Prestige Hats Prestige hats are an optional series of icons players can earn after completing all spell books. Once a player has bought a prestige hat, they are given the standard arcane and fire spell books. They have to repurchase the lost spells with more wands. Each Prestige hat makes gaining wands more difficult. Spellbooks *Arcane Book *Book of Flame *Book of Stone *Book of Storm *Book of Frost *Book of Underdark *Book of Overlight *Book of Nature *Book of Seas Tactics Many different kinds of tactics exist for Arcanists. Some are very quick, others rely on slowly eroding your opponent's health over a long time. *Mega Boulder is capable of doing 175 damage in one turn when used skillfully, with a bit of luck. It is available earlier than many other highly-damaging spells. It may be helpful to combine it with Mud Ball to keep your opponent where he is as the explosions happen nearby. *Chain Lightning can also work as an equivalent to Mega Boulder, and it is best used with Mud Ball. *Climbing on your opponent's head can often be used to open up a number of tactics, and prevent them from moving. Minions can also be used for this. *Flight can be used very effectively if you are lucky enough to get the first turn. Fly above your opponent when you can use Ice Shards to deal a quick 75 damage, or Mud Ball to trap them. Once trapped, a number of tactics can be used; Aura of Decay can force opponents to teleport and Chain Lightning can sometimes deal huge amounts of damage. Achievements Trivia *Arcanists was voted players' favourite Funorb game in a RuneScape Poll. *In the early days of Arcanists, a common tactic was to build a castle directly on top of your opponent's head. This has since been removed. Many other changes have been implemented: **Death Bombs used to deal Death damage. **Arcanists with Shining Power used to not lose their ability to fly when hit. *Once a player has played 501 games the ratings menu will no longer accurately count... it will now just say 500+ Category:Multi-player Games Category:Original Games Category:Strategy Games Category:Arcanists